Thursday, December 2, 2010

Quick, take a guess: what's the average age American kids are getting their first cellphones? 10? 12? 14?

According to data out today from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, most are 12 or 13. But hold on, there, before you go ripping the phone from your 10-year-old's fingers. According to Pew, while none of the 17-year-olds in the survey got phones when they were 11 or younger, more than half of today's 12-year-olds had phones when they were 11 or younger.

So, the times are a'changing, and it appears most parents today think it's ok to give their kid a phone by the time they turn 11. What do you think? When did your kid get his or her first phone? Are 11-year-olds mature enough to have cellphones?

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comments:

For $5 a month I can get one for my almost 10 yr old. So we're activating an old one that isn't being used anymore for her to use for emergencies. If it gets lost, we don't really care. She travels to relatives for months out of the summer though and is always out at sleepovers, girl scout outings, etc. So it's nice to know if she has an emergency she can call us quickly. Plus she's excited to be able to take pictures while she's out. I wouldn't buy her a new one, but I don't think it's crazy to give a used one. It's not like you can find a payphone these days like when I was a kid.

I brought my great neice one last month for her 7th birthday. She has had one since her six birthday. It is a prepaid phone and she has to save her allowance to buy minutes. I upgraded her to a camera phone so she would be able to send pictures and text. She is a A, B student and is a overall great kid. My family decided to get her one due to the fact that shes on the go alot to one of our houses or to a friends house for a sleepover. She has asthma and needs to be able to consult with her mother or grandmother at all times. So far she has been very good with it. She is not allowed to take it to school or church.